It can be tough to figure out how to train for a race, so I’m providing you with a 10k running training plan. A lot of people believe that beginners should always begin with a 5K, and advanced runners would only want to run marathons and half-marathons, I would have to strongly disagree.I think 10Ks are a great distance for all runners alike, whether they are beginners, intermediate, or advanced.

To give you an example of a beginner runner, I’m going to tell you about a close friend of mine who wanted to get in shape and asked me for help in doing so. We began taking runs together every week. I think the fact that he lasted for 2 minutes before stopping during our first run demonstrates just how little cardio he had been doing up until that point. It was an uphill battle, but we began running together more and more, and we got to the point where he was comfortably running around 5K 4-5times a week. That’s when I signed us up for a 10K race. My running grasshopper thought I was nuts, he didn’t believe he’d even make it to the finish line, let alone finishing in a decent time. Surprise, surprise, the day of the race came and went, and he finished it in just under an hour (59:59) !!

On the other side of the spectrum is my running. I am a running addict. At one point I was running 16 km 5 times a week…I have ran a marathon and finished with a decent time. But I still love running 10K’s most. Why? This would have to be because I can run them more often than marathons without the training interfering with my life. And once you get addicted to the feeling of finishing a race, you’ll want to get that high more often than just once or twice a year.

Here’s a good example of a training schedule to get you ready for your first, or 1oth, 10K race:

10k Training Schedule

XT stands for: cross-training! This means cycling, swimming, cross-country ski machines, or any other form of exercise that is low-force to your joints.

It is very important to take a day off (marked break) so your muscles have time to rest- otherwise you greatly increase your chance of getting injured, meaning: bye bye race!

Sundays are the day you should get outside and run the distance shown at a good pace (not too slow, but also not so fast that your burn yourself out and cannot finish running the distance!)